Paintball gun loading methods and apparatus

ABSTRACT

A loader for a paintball gun can include a housing comprising a chamber configured to house a quantity of paintballs, and a removable drive tray comprising a drive mechanism configured to drive an agitator or feed mechanism of the loader, wherein the removable drive tray is configured to be releasably secured to the housing during operation of the loader, and is further configured to be readily removed from the housing without the use of a tool. The agitator or feed mechanism may be arranged in the removable drive tray.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/685,994, which is a broadening reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 7,841,328,which issued from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/879,691, filedJul. 19, 2007, entitled “PAINTBALL GUN LOADING METHODS AND APPARATUS,”which claims the benefit of the filing dates of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/831,662, entitled “DRIVE SYSTEM FOR LOADER OFPAINTBALL GUN,” filed Jul. 19, 2006, and U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/849,024, entitled “DRIVE SYSTEM FOR LOADER OFPAINTBALL GUN,” filed Oct. 4, 2006, each of which is incorporated fullyherein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to paintball gun loaders and, moreparticularly, to methods and apparatus for loading paintballs intopaintball guns.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The game of paintball uses paintball guns to project balls of paint(“paintballs”) at opponents. A loading device (“loader”) loadspaintballs into a feed tube leading to the firing breach of thepaintball guns. One performance measurement of a paintball gun is therate at which it projects paintballs, commonly measured in balls persecond (“BPS”).

Conventional paintball guns and loaders used therewith may encountertime delays between the actuation of the firing sequence of thepaintball gun to fire a paintball and the actuation of the loader todeliver more paintballs into the feed tube the paintball gun. Forexample, the loader may wait for movement of paintballs within a neck ofthe loader leading to the feed tube of the paintball gun beforeactuation. Since high-end paintball guns typically have sensors in thebreach of the gun to prevent firing until a paintball is fully insertedinto the breach, the actuation of the loader effectively controls themaximum rate of fire. This may be undesirable for competitive playersdesiring a maximum rate of fire at any given time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is embodied in methods, apparatus, systems, andkits for loading paintballs from a loader into a feed tube of apaintball gun. An exemplary loader includes a chamber for holdingpaintballs, a feed mechanism having a rotational feeder within thechamber that feeds paintballs from the chamber along a feed channel whenrotating to fill the feed tube, and a drive mechanism that drives therotational feeder of the feed mechanism, ceases to drive the rotationalfeeder responsive to stoppage of the rotational feeder, and periodicallyattempts to rotate the stopped rotational feeder.

In an exemplary embodiment, paintballs are loaded from a loader into afeed tube of a paintball gun by driving a rotational feeder within theloader, the rotational feeder configured within the loader to feedpaintballs into the feed tube when rotating, ceasing to drive therotational feeder responsive to stoppage of the rotational feeder, andperiodically attempting to rotate the stopped rotational feeder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is best understood from the following detailed descriptionwhen read in connection with the accompanying drawings, with likeelements having the same reference numerals. When a plurality of similarelements are present, a single reference numeral may be assigned to theplurality of similar elements with a small letter designation referringto specific elements. When referring to the elements collectively or toa non-specific one or more of the elements, the small letter designationmay be dropped. This emphasizes that according to common practice, thevarious features of the drawings are not drawn to scale. On thecontrary, the dimensions of the various features are arbitrarilyexpanded or reduced for clarity. Included in the drawings are thefollowing figures:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a paintball gun assembly including a paintballgun and a loader with a drive/feed mechanism installed in accordancewith an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of an exemplary loader with thedrive/feed mechanism removed in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of an exemplary loader with thedrive/feed mechanism removed in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a side view of an exemplary loader with the drive/feedmechanism removed in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of an exemplary loader with the drive/feedmechanism removed in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an exemplary drive/feed mechanism in accordancewith an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a blown-up view of an exemplary rotational feeder of thedrive/feed mechanism of FIG. 6 in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention;

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the exemplary drive/feed mechanism of FIG. 7with a cover removed in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the exemplary drive/feed mechanism of FIG.7 in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the exemplary drive/feed mechanism ofFIG. 7 in accordance with an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is an elevation view of the exemplary drive/feed mechanism ofFIG. 7 in accordance with an aspect of the present invention; and

FIG. 12 is a flow chart of exemplary steps for loading paintballs into afeed tube of a paintball gun in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary paintball gun assembly 100. Paintball gunassembly 100 includes a paintball gun 102 and a loader 104 that loadspaintballs into a feed tube 106 of paintball gun 102. Paintball gun 102and loader 104 may be supplied as components of a kit.

Paintball gun 102 includes a firing breach (not shown) connected to thefeed tube 106 and a trigger 108. A compressed gas source such as acylinder tank (not shown) is typically secured to the paintball gun 102to supply gas to the firing breach in order to launch/project apaintball located within the firing breach from the paintball gun 102.The compressed gas source may contain carbon dioxide or nitric oxide;however, other compressible gasses may be used.

Actuation of trigger 108 results in paintball gun 102 projecting apaintball located in the firing breach, e.g., by introducing gas to thefiring breach behind a paintball located therein. Additionally,actuation of trigger 108 may generate a firing signal, e.g., transmittedvia an antenna (not shown) and a transceiver 120 such as a radiofrequency (RF) transceiver located in the paintball gun 102 forreception at loader 104. The firing signal may be generated using asensor located in the vicinity of trigger 108. Suitable sensors for usein generating the firing signal in response to the actuation of trigger108 include magnetic sensors, mechanical sensors, electromechanicalsensors, piezoelectric sensors, pressure sensors, accelerometers, etc.In an exemplary embodiment, the firing signal is an encoded signalincluding a unique identification number, for example.

In alternative embodiments, a firing signal may be generated bypaintball gun 102 in response to detection of a paintball being fired,movement of a paintball within paintball gun 102, paintball gun 102completing a firing cycle, and/or movement of components withinpaintball gun 102. Electromechanical sensors, infrared (IR) sensors,contact pads, optical sensors, sound sensors, shock sensors,piezoelectric sensors, or other such sensors may be used to detectpaintball position and/or movement within paintball gun 102, forexample. Additionally, “anti-chop” sensors (such as optical sensors)within the firing breach of paintball gun 102 may be used to detectpaintball position and/or movement within paintball gun 102. Suitabledetection methods will be understood by one of skill in the art from thedescription herein.

In other embodiments, a radar sensor (not shown) mounted on the loader104 or in communication with loader 104 may be used to detect paintballsleaving paintball gun 102 in order to generate a firing signal and/ordetermine rate of fire, for example. The radar sensor may also be usedto detect if paintballs are being fired at the operator of paintball gun102. Detection of paintballs being fired at the operator may becommunicated to the operator via audio and/or visual signals presentedby the loader 104, e.g., via a speaker and/or display (not shown).Suitable radar sensors, audio devices, and visual devices will beunderstood by one of skill in the art from the description herein.

Loader 104 includes an opening 110, a lid 112 for covering opening 110,and a chamber 114 for holding paintballs. In FIG. 1, lid 112 is depictedin an open position, thereby allowing the addition of paintballs tochamber 114. A drive/feed mechanism 116 within loader 104 actuates afeeder mechanism including a rotational feeder (described below) todeliver paintballs from chamber 114 to feed tube 106 through a feed neckof loader 104 (described below). A power supply 118 supplies power todrive/feed mechanism 116. In an exemplary embodiment, drive/feedmechanism 116 drives the rotational feeder, ceases to drive therotational feeder responsive to stoppage of the rotational feeder, andperiodically attempts to rotate the stopped rotational feeder.

Drive/feed mechanism 116 may include electronics (described below)including a circuit for receiving a firing signal from the paintball gun102, e.g., via an antenna (not shown) and a transceiver 122 such as anRF transceiver in the loader 104. In an exemplary embodiment, the firingsignal of an operator's paintball gun is encoded with a uniqueidentifier and the electronics are configured by the operator torecognize the unique identifier in order to prevent the drive/feedmechanism 116 from being activated by a firing signal transmitted byanother paintball gun. The electronics may be configured by, first,pressing and holding a button associated with the electronics.Optionally, an indicator associated with the electronics may blink at arelatively slow rate to indicate the electronics are ready to receiveconfiguration information. The trigger 108 of paintball gun 102 may thenbe actuated to transmit configuration information, which is received bythe electronics. Optionally, an indicator associated with theelectronics may blink at a relatively fast rate to indicate theelectronics have been configured responsive to the configurationinformation.

In an exemplary embodiment, the lid 112 has a magnetic orelectro-magnetic loader lid release. Transceiver 120 may be linked to aswitching device 124 mounted onto the paintball gun 102. Upon triggeringswitching device 124, transceiver 120 transmits a lid signal that isreceived by transceiver 122. The received lid signal prompts loader 104to reverse the polarity of a magnet 126 a on the loader 104, therebyrepelling a corresponding magnet 126 b on lid 112 to force lid 112 open.This allows the operator of paintball gun 104 to push switching device124 with the hand holding paintball gun 102 to open lid 112 and use theother hand to quickly and conveniently pour paintballs from a paintballpod into loader 104 without having to first manually open the lid usingboth hands. In an exemplary embodiment, the lid signal is an encodedsignal that allows the same transceivers 120/122 to handle multiplesignals, e.g., the lid signal and the firing signal described above.Although transceivers are illustrated (which include both a transmitterand a receiver), it will be understood by one of skill in the art fromthe description herein that a transmitter without a receiver may beemployed if signals are only to be transmitted and a receiver without atransmitter may be employed if signals are only to be received.

In an exemplary embodiment, drive/feed mechanism 116 is part of acomponent that is separable from chamber 114, which is part of anothercomponent. This allows drive/feed mechanism 116 to be manually removedfrom chamber 114 without tools (i.e., the components are releasablysecured), which is known in the art as “field strippable.” Inalternative embodiments, the drive/feed mechanism 116 and chamber 114may be at least substantially permanently connected. Additional detailsregarding loader 104 are described below.

FIG. 2 depicts a side perspective view of loader 104 with lid 112 in aclosed position, thereby preventing paintballs within chamber 114(FIG. 1) from falling out. FIG. 3 depicts a top perspective view ofloader 104 with lid 112 in the open position and drive/feed mechanism116 (FIG. 1) removed, leaving cavity 300.

FIG. 4 depicts a side view of loader 104 with lid 112 in the openposition and drive/feed mechanism 116 (FIG. 1) removed. Drive/feedmechanism 116 (FIG. 1) may be inserted into cavity 300 of loader 104.Loader 104 includes an opening 402 a for mating with a projection on thedrive/feed mechanism 116 to secure drive/feed mechanism 116 to loader104. Drive/feed mechanism 116 may be released by depressing theprojection such that it is disengaged from opening 402 a. As illustratedin FIG. 5 (discussed below), a similar opening 402 b is present on theother side of loader 104. FIG. 6 (discussed in further detail below)depicts a projection 601 on drive/feed mechanism 116 for mating withopening 402 b to secure drive/feed mechanism 116 to loader 104. Asimilar projection for mating with opening 402 a is present on anopposite surface of drive/feed mechanism 116. Other suitable means forsecuring drive/feed mechanism 116 to loader 104 will be understood byone of skill in the art from the description herein. FIG. 4 furtherdepicts a feed neck 404 of loader 104 that mates with the feed tube 106(FIG. 1) for supplying paintballs thereto.

FIG. 5 depicts a rear view of loader 104 with drive/feed mechanism 116removed. A feed neck channel 500 defined within feed neck 404 leads fromdrive/feed mechanism 116 (when installed) to feed tube 106 of paintballgun 102 when loader 104 is attached to paintball gun 102. A powerconnector 504 is connected to power source 118 (FIG. 1). Power connector504 mates with a corresponding power connector of drive/feed mechanism116 (described below) when drive/feed mechanism 116 is installed withinloader 104 to provide power from power source 118 to drive/feedmechanism 116.

FIG. 6 depicts a top perspective view of drive/feed mechanism 116.Drive/feed mechanism 116 includes a feed mechanism 600 and a drivemechanism (described below). Illustrated feed mechanism 600 includes arotational feeder 602 that moves paintballs along a ball guide 604 intofeed neck 404 when rotating to deliver paintballs to the feed tube 106of paintball gun 102. Together, ball guide 604 and feed neck 404 form afeed channel through which paintballs are delivered from the loader 104to the feed tube 106. In an exemplary embodiment, ball guide 604 slopesdownward to form a spiral downward flow channel at an angle betweenabout 5 degrees and about 15 degrees, for example.

In an exemplary embodiment, rotational feeder 602 includes a feed wheel606 having a perimeter 608 and a plurality of fins (represented by fivefins 610 a-e in the illustrated embodiment) extending from wheelperimeter 608. The feed wheel 606 may be conical (as illustrated), flat,or another shape. The fins 610 may be spaced around perimeter 608 suchthat at least one paintball can be received between adjacent fins (e.g.,between fins 610 a and 610 b). In an exemplary embodiment, fins 610 arelocated below a bottom slope of feed wheel 606 such that paintballswithin loader 104 will fall between fins 610 and be pushed into the feedneck 404 instead of bouncing around above fins 610 and/or feed wheel606, which reduces the chance of paintball breakage. FIG. 7 depicts aclose-up top perspective view of rotational feeder 602 and an opening700 leading to feed neck channel 500.

A spiral downward flow channel of ball guide 604 allows paintballs tofollow the natural downward gravitational flow. This combined with thepositioning of fins 610 on feed wheel 606 results in paintballs movingdeeper into the ball guide 604—allowing fins 610 to ride higher on thepaintballs as they move closer to the feed neck 404. This reduces thelikelihood of a paintball coming out of the ball guide 604 or beingdisturbed during its movement toward feed neck 404. When a paintball isin the last position before entering feed neck 404, the position of thispaintball will not allow another paintball to enter the ball guide 604.

In an alternative exemplary embodiment, rotational feeder 602 may bereplaced with an agitator (not shown), e.g., a device used to stirpaintballs and prevent paintball jams in the loader.

FIG. 8 depicts a bottom perspective view of drive/feed mechanism 116.Drive/feed mechanism 116 further includes a drive mechanism 800 thatdrives feed mechanism 600 (FIG. 6). Illustrated drive mechanism 800includes a drive motor 802 that drives a drive shaft 804 coupled torotational feeder 602, thereby driving rotational feeder 602. In anexemplary embodiment, drive motor 802 drives rotational feeder 602 at asubstantially constant spin rate, which enables smoother ball flow intothe space between fins 610 of feed wheel 606 and into feed neck 404,that is faster than the firing rate of paintball gun 102, which reduceslag attributable to the loader 104. Illustrated drive motor 802 drives aprimary drive gear 806 that, in turn, drives a secondary drive gear 808.Drive motor 802 drives primary drive gear 806 using a drive belt 810. Inan exemplary embodiment, drive belt 810 has teeth and/or is notched (notshown) to prevent slippage, fits between drive motor 802 and primarydrive gear 808, and turns without having a tight fit. The drive motor802, drive gears 806/808, and drive belt 810 may be at least partiallycovered by a cover (not shown).

Drive motor 802 is controlled by electronics 812. Electronics 812 mayinclude one or more controller(s) for controlling drive motor 802. Thecontroller(s) may include a printed circuit board including discretecomponents (such as resistors, capacitors, solenoids, switches, etc.)and/or one or more microprocessor(s). In an exemplary embodiment, amicroprocessor is programmed to control drive motor 802. Additionally,switches (not shown) may be connected to the microprocessor to provideuser input. For example, a first switch may be provided to reverse thedirection of the drive motor 802 and a second switch may be provided toturn the drive mechanism 800 on/off, turn an optional RF module on/off,change the attempt frequency (described below) and/or change the speedof rotation of the drive shaft 804 and, thus, the rotational feeder 602.Suitable microprocessors, discrete components, and switches, andprogramming of the microprocessors to provide the functionality hereindescribed, will be understood by one of skill in the art from thedescription herein.

Electronics 812 may receive/transmit data from/to electronics (notshown) within paintball gun 102, e.g., via transceivers 120/122 (FIG.1). For example, data from paintball gun 102 may be displayed on adisplay (not shown) of loader 104 such as a liquid crystal display (LCD)panel. Additionally, electronics 812 may allow communication with thepaintball gun 102 so that they function as one unit to improve theoverall performance of both. For example, paintball gun 102 could haveperformance programs that would help to speed up the rate of fire byallowing loader 104 to know in advance that paintball gun 102 will run aparticular program, thereby permitting electronics 812 to optimizeloader 104 for use with that program.

In addition, the display may be uses for displaying parameters relatingto operation of the paintball gun 102 and/or loader 104. For example,shot count, elapsed game time, paintball usage, battery life, remainingpaintballs in loader 104, etc. may be monitored by known controllerswithin the paintball gun 102 and/or electronics 812 of loader 104, asappropriate. Parameters monitored by paintball gun 102 may betransferred to electronics 812 of loader 104 for display viatransceivers 120/122, and electronics 812 may display parametersmonitored by and received directly from loader 104. Selection ofparameters displayed may be accomplished using selection elements (suchas switches) coupled to electronics 812 of loader 104 and/or coupled topaintball gun 102 and transmitted to electronics 812 via transceivers120/122.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of an exemplary drive/feed mechanism 116 andFIGS. 10 and 11 are side and elevation views, respectively. In anexemplary operation, drive motor 802 (under control of electronics 812)moves drive belt 810. Drive belt 810 turns primary drive gear 806 which,in turn, turns secondary drive gear 808 (FIG. 8) coupled to drive shaft804. Drive shaft 804 is coupled to feed wheel 606. Thus, drive motor 802drives/rotates feed wheel 606. In an exemplary embodiment, paintballs inchamber 114 (FIG. 1) roll down a slope of feed wheel 606 and becomeseated in ball guide 604 between adjacent feed wheel fins 610. As feedwheel 606 rotates counterclockwise, feed wheel fins 610 urge thepaintballs between adjacent fins along the ball guide 604 into feed neck404. Although the illustrated embodiments utilize counterclockwiserotation of the feed wheel 606 to load paintballs, other embodiments maybe configured for clockwise rotation of the feed wheel 606. In anexemplary embodiment, the feed wheel 606 may be rotated in a directionopposite to its normal operation.

FIG. 12 depicts a flow chart 1200 of exemplary steps for loadingpaintballs from a loader into a feed tube of a paintball gun. Theexemplary steps are described with reference to FIGS. 1-11. Althoughdescribed with reference to FIGS. 1-11, it will be understood that theexemplary steps may be employed with other loaders and paintball gunswithout departing from the scope of the present invention. Suitableloaders and paintball guns with which the exemplary steps may beemployed will be understood by one of skill in the art from thedescription herein.

A step 1202, a rotational feeder within a loader is driven. In anexemplary embodiment, drive motor 802 (under control of electronics 812)drives rotational feeder 602 (e.g., feed wheel 606 and fins 610) suchthat paintballs within ball guide 604 are moved along ball guide 604into feed neck 404 and, thus, feed tube 106 of paintball gun 102.

At step 1204, stoppage of the rotational feeder is identified. In anexemplary embodiment, electronics 812 within drive mechanism 800identify stoppage of the rotational feeder 602. Electronics 812 mayidentify stoppage of rotational feeder 602 by detecting current and/orresistance increases in drive mechanism 800 due to stoppage ofrotational feeder 602 which, in turn, stops drive motor 802. Rotationalfeeder 602 may be stopped by one or more broken paintballs and/or a fullfeed tube 106 and feed neck 404, for example. In an exemplaryembodiment, a notched drive belt 810 is utilized. The notched drive beltreduces current draw or load on drive motor 802, thereby increasingefficiency. Additionally, it reduces slippage which makes it easier toobtain accurate current and/or resistance measurements.

At step 1206, driving of the rotational feeder is ceased responsive tostoppage of the rotational feeder. In an exemplary embodiment, drivemotor 802 (under control of electronics 812) ceases to drive rotationalfeeder 602 responsive to the identification of the stoppage ofrotational feeder 602 in step 1204.

At step 1208, periodic attempts are made to rotate the stoppedrotational feeder. Exemplary steps for periodically attempting to rotatethe stopped rotational feeder are set forth in step 1210 through step1216. In an exemplary embodiment, a pro-active periodic attempt torotate the stopped rotational feeder is performed at an attemptfrequency. The attempt frequency may be a loader operation parameteractuated/selected, e.g., manually by an operator via electronics 812,from one or more predefined attempt frequencies. For example, frombetween a first frequency (e.g., a frequency between about 0.25 andabout 0.75 seconds) and a second frequency (e.g., a frequency betweenabout 1.0 and about 5.0 seconds).

In an exemplary embodiment, electronics 812 may shorten the attemptfrequency (e.g., to a frequency between about 0.001 seconds or fasterand about 0.1 seconds) in response to a firing signal (e.g., generatedby paintball gun 102 and received via transceivers 120/122). Uponidentification of the stoppage of rotational feed 602 (described above)and/or after a predetermined period of time (e.g., 5-10 seconds), theattempt frequency may revert to the initial attempt frequency. Inaccordance with this embodiment, a firing event/operation, such asactuation of a trigger, may be detected by a sensor, which results incontroller/transceiver 120 of paintball gun 102 being notified of thefiring event/operation. Transceiver 120 then transmits a loaderoperation signal to transceiver 122 of loader 104, which notifiescontroller/electronics 812. Controller/electronics 812 then operateaccording to the shortened attempt frequency until stoppage of therotational feeder is identified, at which time controller/electronics812 change the attempt frequency back to the initial attempt frequency.

In an alternative exemplary embodiment, an attempt to rotate therotational feeder may be initiated in response to the firing signal. Inaccordance with this embodiment, a firing event/operation, such asactuation of a trigger, may be detected by a sensor, which results incontroller/transceiver 120 of paintball gun 102 being notified of thefiring event/operation. Transceiver 120 then transmits a loaderoperation signal to transceiver 122 of loader 104, which notifiescontroller/electronics 812 to operate the drive motor 802.

Accordingly, drive mechanism 800 may use multiple means of pro-activeengagement of the rotational feeder 602. In an exemplary embodiment, apulse or signal is preferably sent to actuate loader 104 prior to thecycling of paintball gun 102. By the time paintball gun 102 has cycledits first shot, loader 104 preferably is at its maximum speed or feedrate, allowing paintball gun 102 to fire at its maximum or desired rateof fire or BPS. Pro-active actuation according to the present inventionreduces delays that are caused by delayed ON signals for conventional“reactive” loaders.

At step 1210, an attempt is made to rotate the stopped rotationalfeeder. In an exemplary embodiment, drive motor 802 (under control ofelectronics 812) attempts to rotate rotational feeder 602. Electronics812 may include a timer (not shown) that increments a counter to controlthe frequency at which attempts are made to rotate rotational feeder602. Upon the counter reaching a value associated with an attemptfrequency, electronics 812 attempt to rotate rotational feeder 602 andresets the counter. Identification of a firing signal at electronics 812may cause the electronics to reduce the value associated with theattempt frequency to a lower value associated with a shorter attemptfrequency. Alternatively, electronics 812 may advance the counter (e.g.,at a faster rate or to a predetermined value) to effectively shorten theattempt frequency in response to identification of the firing signal. Inan alternative exemplary embodiment, electronics 812 may attempt torotate rotational feeder 602 in response to the firing signal.

At step 1212, stoppage of the rotational feeder is identified inresponse to the attempted rotation at step 1210. In an exemplaryembodiment, stoppage of the rotational feeder is performed as describedabove regarding step 1204. In exemplary embodiments, identification ofstoppage of rotational feeder 602 and/or passage of a predeterminedperiod of time results in electronics 812 reestablishing the initialattempt frequency and/or counter rate described above with reference tostep 1210.

At step 1214, a determination is made regarding stoppage of therotational feeder. If the rotational feeder is stopped, processingproceeds at step 1216. Otherwise, processing proceeds at step 1218. Inan exemplary embodiment, electronics 812 make the determinationregarding stoppage of rotational feeder 602.

At step 1216, driving of the rotational feeder is ceased responsive toidentification of the stoppage of the rotational feeder. In an exemplaryembodiment, driving of rotational feeder 602 is ceased as describedabove regarding step 1206 and, thus, will not be described in furtherdetail. Processing then proceeds at block 1210 with the attemptedrotation and cessation of driving steps repeating until a determinationis made that the rotational feeder is no longer stopped, e.g., at step1214.

In an exemplary embodiment, step 1210 through step 1216 operate togetheras follows. Electronics 812 periodically attempt to supply power todrive motor 802. The attempts may be timed such that they occur fasterthan the maximum firing rate (typically measured in cycles per second)of the paintball gun 102 with which loader 104 will be used. The drivemotor 802 attempts to turn rotational feeder 602 to force paintballsinto feed neck 404 when power is supplied. When feed neck 404 of loader104 is full and the paintball stack in the loader neck 404 preventsrotational feeder 602 from turning, electronics 812 identify thisstoppage through a current reading or resistance reading. At acalculated and appropriate current feedback, electronics 812 removepower from the drive motor 802. If electronics 812 supply power to drivemotor 802 and the paintball stack is full, the electronics 812 willremove power and wait a predefined period of time before re-supplyingpower (e.g., 0.5 or 3.0 seconds). This results in pulsation of therotational feeder 602. When a paintball is fired, thereby creating avoid in the feed neck/feed tube, drive motor 812 continues to turn inresponse to the power supplied by electronics 812.

At step 1218, a determination is made regarding the drive mechanism 800.In an exemplary embodiment, if either the drive mechanism 800 is turnedoff or the loader 104 is empty (e.g., the chamber 114 is empty or theloader does not include enough paintballs to fill feed neck 404),processing proceeds at step 1220 with the drive motor 802 no longerdriving the rotational feeder 602. Otherwise, drive motor 802 continuesto drive the rotational feeder 602 and processing continues at step1204. In an exemplary embodiment, a determination is made that theloader 104 is empty if the rotational feeder 602 has rotatedcontinuously for a period of time (e.g., for 2 minutes or more). Inalternative exemplary embodiment, sensors within the chamber 114 and/orfeed neck 404 may be used to determine if the loader 104 is empty.

Additional implementations/embodiments of the present invention are nowdescribed. A wireless projectile loader system (e.g., a paintball gunand paintball loader therefore) is provided that includes a compressedgas gun (e.g., a paintball gun that uses compressed gas to launchprojectiles such as paintballs) having at least one sensor for detectinga firing operation (e.g., actuation of the trigger of a paintball gun)and sending a sensor signal, a wireless transmitter in communicationwith the at least one sensor that is adapted to receive the sensorsignal and send a wireless signal in response to the sensor detecting afiring operation, and a projectile loader (e.g., paintball loader)having an agitator, a motor for operating the agitator, and at least onewireless receiver in communication with the motor adapted to receive thewireless signal. The wireless projectile loader system may additionallyinclude a controller in communication with the receiver for operatingthe motor. The controller may include a microprocessor.

Another wireless projectile loader system is provided that includes atleast one sensor for detecting a firing operation of a compressed gasgun and sending a sensor signal, a wireless transmitter in communicationwith the at least one sensor that is adapted to receive the sensorsignal and send a wireless signal in response to the sensor detecting afiring operation, and at least one wireless receiver for receiving thewireless signal that is in communication with a motor of a projectileloader and adapted to initiate operation of the motor in response to thewireless signal transmitted by the transmitter. The wireless projectileloader system may further include a controller in communication with oneof the transmitter and the receiver. The controller may include amicroprocessor.

A method of wirelessly operating a projectile loader is provided thatincludes detecting a firing operation of a compressed gas gun,wirelessly transmitting a signal in response to the firing operation,receiving the signal, and operating a motor of the projectile loader.

Another method of wirelessly operating a projectile loader is providedthat includes providing a compressed gas gun having at least one sensorand at least one wireless transmitter in communication with the at leastone sensor, providing a projectile loader having a motor and at leastone wireless receiver in communication with the motor, detecting afiring operation of the compressed gas gun with the sensor, transmittinga demand signal (e.g., a signal generated in response to actuation of apaintball gun trigger) from the sensor to the wireless transmitter,wirelessly transmitting a loader operation signal (e.g., a signal forrequesting operation of the loader motor) from the wireless transmitterto the wireless receiver, and operating the motor in response to theloader operation signal.

A wireless system for controlling operation of a projectile loader isprovided that includes a compressed gas gun having a controller and awireless transmitter in communication with the controller, and aprojectile loader having a receiver for receiver wireless signals fromthe wireless transmitter and a controller for controlling an operationof the projectile loader. The wireless system may further include atleast one user-actuated selection element in communication with thecontroller.

A method of controlling operation of a projectile loader is providedthat includes selecting a projectile loader operation parameter,wirelessly transmitting a signal in response to the selection, receivingthe signal, and controlling the operation of the projectile loader inresponse to the signal.

Another method of controlling operation of a projectile loader isprovided that includes wirelessly transmitting a signal representing aprojectile loader operation parameter, receiving the signal, andcontrolling the operation of the projectile loader in response to thesignal. The method may further include selecting a projectile loaderoperation parameter prior to wirelessly transmitting the signal.

Although the present invention has been described for use with a loaderof a paintball gun that attaches above the paintball gun, it may be usedwith other types of paintball loading objects (e.g., backpacks, etc.)and in other fields, as apparent to a person skilled in the art. Forthis reason, expressions such as “paintball,” “gun,” “loader,” etc., asused herein should not be taken as to limit the scope of the presentinvention and includes all other kinds of guns and/or items with whichthe present invention could be used and may be useful. Indeed, althoughthe drive system according to the present invention is preferably usedin the paintball industry, it is to be understood by a person skilled inthe art that it could be used for any other kind of dispensing device(e.g., gun, etc.) requiring the feeding of objects (balls, paintballs,etc.) from a drive system as described herein.

It is contemplated that the invention may be implemented in softwarerunning on a processor. In this embodiment, one or more of the abovedescribed steps may be implemented in software that controls thecomputer. This software may be embodied in a computer readable medium,for example, a memory, a magnetic or optical disk, a memory-card or anaudio frequency, radio-frequency, or optical carrier wave.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed herein, it will be understood that such embodiments areprovided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes andsubstitutions will occur to those skilled in the art without departingfrom the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is intendedthat the appended claims cover all such variations as fall within thescope and range of equivalents of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A loader for a paintball gun, said loadercomprising: a housing comprising a chamber configured to house aquantity of paintballs; and a removable drive tray comprising a drivemechanism configured to drive an agitator or feed mechanism of theloader, wherein the removable drive tray is configured to be releasablysecured to the housing during operation of the loader and is furtherconfigured to be readily removed from the housing without the use of atool.
 2. A loader according to claim 1, wherein the agitator or feedmechanism is arranged in the removable drive tray.
 3. A loader accordingto claim 2, wherein the agitator or feed mechanism is configured to bearranged in communication with an interior of the chamber when theremovable drive tray is secured to the housing.
 4. A loader according toclaim 2, wherein the agitator or feed mechanism comprises a feedmechanism, and wherein the feed mechanism comprises a rotatable feedwheel having a plurality of fins configured to move paintballs toward afeed opening in the drive tray.
 5. A loader according to claim 4,wherein the feed opening in the drive tray communicates with a feed tubein the housing, wherein said feed tube is configured to be arranged in afeed neck of a paintball gun.
 6. A loader according to claim 1, whereinthe housing further comprises a battery chamber configured to house apower supply, and a power supply connector configured to mate with acorresponding power supply connector arranged in the removable drivetray when the removably drive tray is secured to the housing to providepower from the power supply to the removable drive tray.
 7. A loaderaccording to claim 1, wherein the removable drive tray further comprisesa display.
 8. A loader according to claim 1, wherein the drive mechanismcomprises a motor.
 9. A loader according to claim 8, wherein said motoris configured to drive a drive shaft connected to a rotational feeder.10. A loader according to claim 1, wherein the drive tray comprisesdepressible protrusions configured to mate within openings in thehousing to releasably secure the drive tray to the housing.
 11. A loaderfor supplying paintballs to a paintball gun, said loader comprising: ahousing comprising: a chamber configured to house a quantity ofpaintballs; a power supply receptacle configured to house a powersupply; and a feed tube configured to deliver paintballs from the loaderto a feed neck of the paintball gun; and a removable drive trayconfigured to be releasably secured to the housing, said drive traycomprising: a feed mechanism configured to be in communication with thechamber when the drive tray is arranged in the housing, and furtherconfigured to deliver paintballs from the chamber to the feed tubeduring operation of the loader; a drive mechanism configured to drivethe feed mechanism; and a power connector configured to receive powerfrom the power supply.
 12. A loader according to claim 11, wherein saidremovable drive tray further comprises a display configured to displayone or more parameters related to operation of the loader duringoperation of the loader.
 13. A loader according to claim 11, whereinsaid feed mechanism comprises a rotatable feed wheel having a pluralityof fins configured to move paintballs from the chamber toward an openingin the drive tray that communicates with the feed tube during operationof the loader.
 14. A loader according to claim 11, wherein saidremovable drive tray comprises an attachment mechanism for removablysecuring the drive tray to the housing, wherein said attachmentmechanism permits the removable drive tray to be attached to and removedfrom the housing without the use of a tool.
 15. A loader according toclaim 14, wherein the attachment mechanism comprises one or moredepressible projections arranged on the removable drive tray andconfigured to mate within one or more openings in the housing.
 16. Apaintball loader comprising: a body configured to receive and house aquantity of paintballs; a tray configured to be releasably attached tothe body, wherein the tray can be secured to and removed from the bodywithout the use of a tool.
 17. A paintball loader according to claim 16,wherein the tray comprises a drive/feed mechanism for causing paintballshoused in the body to be expelled from the body during operation of theloader.
 18. A paintball loader according to claim 17, wherein thedrive/feed mechanism comprises an agitator or a feed wheel.
 19. Apaintball loader according to claim 16, wherein the tray comprises anattachment mechanism for attachment to the body, wherein the attachmentmechanism permits the tray to be secured to and removed from the bodywithout the use of a tool.
 20. A paintball loader according to claim 19,wherein the attachment mechanism comprises one or more projectionsconfigured to mate within one or more openings in the body.